NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--From Wednesday’s job interview to Saturday’s beach wedding, guys are constantly faced with the challenge of finding the perfect outfit. In fact, 81% of men report having trouble getting dressed for an event or an occasion and are eager to get help – with nearly three-quarters (72%) of men wishing there was a way to make getting dressed every day or for a special occasion easier, according to a Perry Ellis survey on men’s dressing habits. The iconic menswear brand is on a mission to help solve this problem with the introduction of the “Ask Perry Ellis” Amazon Alexa skill, created for guys who need help figuring out what to wear for the many events on their calendar. The first-of-its-kind, voice-activated Skill supports the brand’s commitment to innovating through technology and generates a modern, frictionless shopping experience for every man by providing head-to-toe options that he can immediately shop.
Whether his calendar calls for a first date, sporting event, or holiday party, guys can now simply use their voice to get valuable fashion assistance and avoid making a fashion faux pas by saying “Alexa, Ask Perry Ellis what I should wear to ...” any of the almost 150 programmed occasions. Alexa replies by offering an appropriate look, taking into account the venue, weather and dress code, and sends the selection to the user’s Alexa app and email where they can click through to PerryEllis.com to add items to their cart to purchase.
Virtual assistants are becoming more widely used by Americans than ever before, according to eMarketer’s first forecast on users of digital assistants which was released in May 2017. The study reports that 35.6 million Americans use a voice-activated assistant device at least once a month. That’s a jump of 128.9% over last year. Moreover, 70.6% of voice-activated assistant users own an Amazon Echo, and it’s predicted that Amazon will remain the dominant player in the category for the foreseeable future. That’s why Perry Ellis selected the platform to house the “Ask Perry Ellis” Skill, which is available on both the Alexa devices and through the Amazon app.
The launch of the skill should be music to any guy’s ear, as they report that the struggle to get dressed is real with nearly three-quarters (73%) of men admitting to having arrived at an event, occasion or location feeling inappropriately dressed. The Perry Ellis “Men’s Dressing Habits” survey also revealed:
- Appropriateness matters: 84% of men care about being dressed appropriately for an occasion. They don’t want to stand out, and hate the feeling of being underdressed (the most common reason they feel they’re dressed inappropriately).
- Dressing impacts their social life and psyche: One-third of men actually admit to having skipped an event because they didn’t have the right clothes to wear. But when dressed appropriately, 72% of men report feeling confident, 42% feel attractive, 39% feel respected and about one-quarter of men feel powerful.
- No occasion is exempt from the struggle: Job interviews, weddings and dates are the occasions men struggle most to dress for, but guys are even boggled about what to wear to events like funerals (48%) and jury duty (38%).
It’s no surprise Perry Ellis would be first-to-market with a voice activated stylist. Perry Ellis was born from a man who was forward-thinking and fresh; not mired in tradition. These brand ethos have remained constant as the product offering and marketing tools have shifting to keep up with the demands of the consumer. Today, the brand is bridging the gap between fashion, function and versatility with product suited for any occasion. To continue speaking directly to the end consumer, Perry Ellis is evolving its marketing strategy with a big push on digital and the use of technology to drive deeper consumer engagement. Under a digitally centric and technology-driven focus, Perry Ellis is targeting new outlets including technology, lifestyle and news. Social media and voice-activated tools are also leveraged to place the brand and product directly in front of the consumer.
“We are always looking for ways to meet the fashion and performance needs of our customers and evolve the way we engage them with our brand,” says Oscar Feldenkreis, CEO and President of Perry Ellis International. “We are confident our Alexa personal stylist will appeal to our tech-savvy consumer by using voice activation to address a real need men have when it comes to dressing and enabling a seamless shopping experience
“We pride ourselves on offering men clothes that are versatile and help them feel stylish and comfortable,” adds Creative Director Michael Maccari. “When it comes to innovation, we combine performance attributes with our sportswear to create a line that embodies go-anywhere dressing. We want our customer to look and feel comfortable, but also always be appropriate for whatever event comes his way, the driving force behind the development of the ‘Ask Perry Ellis’ personal stylist skill.”
To access the personal stylist and find the perfect outfit for any occasion, enable the “Ask Perry Ellis” skill on Alexa. You can also learn more by watching this short demo video.
About Perry Ellis International
Perry Ellis International, Inc. is a leading designer, distributor and licensor of a broad line of high quality men's and women's apparel, accessories and fragrances. The Company's collection of dress and casual shirts, golf sportswear, sweaters, dress pants, casual pants and shorts, jeans wear, active wear, dresses and men's and women's swimwear is available through all major levels of retail distribution. The Company, through its wholly owned subsidiaries, owns a portfolio of nationally and internationally recognized brands, including: Perry Ellis®, Original Penguin® by Munsingwear®, Laundry by Shelli Segal®, Rafaella®, Cubavera®, Ben Hogan®, Savane®, Grand Slam®, John Henry®, Manhattan®, Axist®, Jantzen® and Farah®. The Company enhances its roster of brands by licensing trademarks from third parties, including: Nike® and Jag® for swimwear, and Callaway®, PGA TOUR®, and Jack Nicklaus® for golf apparel. Additional information on the Company is available at http://www.pery.com.
About the Perry Ellis “Men’s Dressing Habits” Survey
Research findings are based on an online survey conducted by Morar Consulting fielded across the US between July 31st –August 3rd, 2017 among 1,017 men between the ages of 18-54, who were asked about their attitudes and challenges when it comes to getting dressed for the everyday, special occasions and events in life.
The Alexa trademark is owned by Amazon Technologies, Inc. ("Amazon"). The launch of the "Ask Perry Ellis" personal stylist skill is neither endorsed nor sponsored by Amazon.
